Modular ceiling construction

ABSTRACT

A modular construction unit for ceiling construction and having a unitary frame, ceiling fabric means supported by and incorporated in the frame, suspension attachment means defined by the frame, lighting fixture means attached to the frame and adapted to be supported thereby in position in the ceiling, and air handling means attached to said frame and adapted to be supported thereby when in position in the ceiling and electrical connection means and air handling connection means associated with the lighting fixture means and the air handling means for connection to services within the ceiling, and junction means formed on said frame means around the edges thereof for interfitting engagement with adjacent said units to form a complete ceiling.

[76] Inventor:

United States Patent [1 1 Mulvey MODULAR CEILING CONSTRUCTION GerardEdmund Mulvey, 36 Castle Frank Rd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada [22] Filed:Aug. 21, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 282,247

[52]. US. Cl. 98/40 DL, 52/592, 240/9 A [51] Int. Cl F215 H02 [58] Fieldof Search. 98/40 D, 40 DL; 52/484, 485,

, Primary Examiner-William E. Wayner Attorney, Agent, or FirmGeorge A.Rolston Jan. 29, 1974 [5 7 ABSTRACT A modular construction unit forceiling construction and having a unitary frame, ceiling fabric meanssupported by and incorporated in the frame, suspension attachment meansdefined by the frame, lighting fixture means attached to the frame andadapted to be supported thereby in position in the ceiling, and airhandling means attached to said frame and adapted to be supportedthereby when in position in the ceiling and electrical connection meansand air handling connection means associated with the lighting fixturemeans and the air handling means for connection to services within theceiling, and junction means formed on said frame means around the edgesthereof for interfitting engagement with adjacent said units to form acomplete ceiling.

9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEB JAN 2 91974 SHEEI 1 0F 3 MODULARCEILING CONSTRUCTION The present invention relates to a modularconstruction unit for ceilings, and in particular to a modularconstruction unit incorporating lighting fixtures, air handlingfixtures, and ceiling panel means in a single one piece module.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The construction of so-called droppedceilings such as are found in modern high rise construction, andinstitutional and industrial buildings and the like is now more or lessstandardized on the basis of the construction of a grid of so-calledceiling tees which are usually suspended from the building fabric, orfor example the concrete forming the floor above, by means of bent wiresor thin rods. The spaces formed within these grids are then filled inwith panels of sound absorbent material. Lighting fixtures are usuallysupported between the ceiling tees at spaced intervals, and air handlingfixtures may be provided separately from the lighting fixtures or alongside the lighting fixtures. This type of construction requires amultiplicity of different operations by skilled tradesmen in differenttrades, all of which must be carried on at the building site itself andfrom floor to floor. Thus the arrangement of an orderly constructionschedule for successive fioors is absolutely essential in order to keepthe various different skilled tradesmen working continuously withoutinterruption. Any interruptions in their work schedule will of courselead to greatly increased costs. In addition, the requirement for such amultiplicity of different operations requires the delivery of a varietyof different supplies from different manufacturers which must again bedelivered according to a predetermined schedule to the building site sothat they are available as needed, but are not delivered so far inadvance that they must be stored for any length of time. Any mishap inthe manufacture or delivery of any portion of the supplies required fromany particular manufacturer will again interrupt the entire schedule andcause greatly increased costs.

Even assuming that the construction and installation of the ceiling andthe various lighting and air handling fixtures is achieved according tothe schedule, the labour costs of the various skilled tradesmen stillamounts to a major proportion of the cost of the actual construction.

It is therefore desirable, and a principal general objective of thepresent invention, to provide a modular construction unit for a ceilingconstruction which can be premanufactured in large quantities in afactory, and shipped to the site as needed from time to time.Preferably, the modular unit will be of such a nature that it bothprovides its own supporting fabric, thereby doing away with therequirement for ceiling tees altogether, and also incorporates bothlighting fixtures and air handling facilities and the fabric of theceiling itself whether this be sheet metal, sound insulation material orpanels of any other material. It is a further objective of the inventionto provide a construction system for the construction of ceilingswhereby the entire ceiling may be installed and erected in place withina building site using a minimum of labour, and reducing to a minimum thenumber of different tradesmen required.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention therefore seeks to providea modular construction unit for ceiling construction and having aunitary frame, ceiling fabric means supported by and incorporated in theframe, suspension attachment means defined by the frame, lightingfixture means attached to the frame and adapted to be supported therebyin position in the ceiling, and air handling means attached to saidframe and adapted to be supported thereby when in position in theceiling, and electrical connection means and air handling connectionmeans associated with the lighting fixture means and the air handlingmeans for connection to services within the ceiling, and an accesshatchway opening defined in each module by said frame, and closure meanstherefor.

Preferably, the module will include supporting flange means formedintegrally with said frame and extending outwardly therefrom intointerlocking overlapping relation with adjacent said flange means onadjacent said modules.

The modular unit according to the invention may further incorporateadditional sound absorbant baffle means within the module where desired.

Preferably, the design and shape of the frame of the module will be suchas to define continuous interlocking recesses within the ceiling itselffor reception of and connection with office partition means within aspace beneath the ceiling, whereby to facilitate the erection andmovement if desired of such partitions.

According to a further embodiment of the invention provision may be madefor the use of lighting fixtures which are either of a standardrectangular shape, or alternatively are of a square or even triangularshape, without departing from the scope of the invention.

The foregoing and other advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description of a preferred embodiment of theinvention which is given with reference to the following drawings inwhich like reference to the devices refer to like parts thereofthroughout the various views and diagrams.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows an upper perspectiveillustration of the modular construction unit according to the inventionpartially broken away to reveal its interior;

FIG. 2 is a section along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic upper perspective illustration showing theinstallation of units of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged upper perspective corresponding to FIG. 3 andshowing an ultimate embodiment.

FIGS. 5a and 5b show modifications of FIGS. 1 and 2, and,

FIG. 6 is an upper perspective illustration of al alternate embodimentshowing different shapes of lighting fixtures.

DESCRIPTION OF A SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT I ments of the particular building.

The module will be seen to be provided with a ceiling panel indicatedgenerally as 11, an access opening indicated by the general reference12, air handling facilities indicated by the general reference 13, and alighting unit indicated by the general reference 14.

In order to support and locate the various constitutent parts of themodule 10, the module 10 is comprised of a framework preferably formedin a square shapes as shown, and located in a more or less verticalplane.

Extending outwardly from the frame 15 a more or less horizontal planeare upper and lower supporting flange members 16 and 17 for interlockingwith, and providing mutual interengaging support with adjacent saidflanges 16 and 17 of adjacent said modules 10. As shown, the upperflanges 16 are provided with open ended slots 18, and at their mutuallyadjoining corner 19 they are cut square to provide a rectangular shapednotch or recess.

The lower flanges 17 are provided with attachment openings 20, adaptedto receive any suitable supporting system such as extended rods, asshown in FIG. 3, fastened into the fabric of the building, or the pouredconcrete of the floor above in a manner to be described be- The lowerflanges 17 at their mutually adjoining corner 21 meet and form a mitredjoint, or any other suitable corner formation.

At the corners 22 between respective upper flanges l6 and lower flanges17 the respective flanges are again cut square so as to definerectangular notches or cutaways. It will be noted that the upper flanges16 are in a plane spaced vertically above the plane containing the lowerflanges 17. Preferably, such spacing is equal to the thickness of theflanges 16 or 17, whereby the upper flanges 16 of one said module may beplaced in mutually overlying relationship with respect to the adjacentlower flanges 17 of two adjacent modules 10. Again, preferably, thelocation of the slotted openings 18 is designed to register with thelocation of the attachment openings when such flanges l6 and 17 areplaced in the aforesaid overlying relationship.

In this way, when the modules 10 are arranged together to form aceiling, the outwardly directed surfaces 23 of the vertical frames 15will form the opposite sides of a continuous intersecting network ofchannels in the ceiling.

Preferably, according to the invention, the dimensions of such channelsformed by the sides 23 will be such that they are adapted to receive theupper portions of building partition systems (not shown).

In order to provide the module 10 with air handling openings, either fordelivery or return air, two air handling channels 24 are formed parallelto one another across the frame 15 spaced apart whereby to divide theframe 15 into three more or less equal rectangular portions, with theceiling panel 11 at one end thereof, and the access opening 12 at theother end thereof. Between the two air handling channels 24 the lightingfixture unit 14 is located which will be described in greater detailbelow. Preferably, the air handling channels 24 are provided byrespective pairs of inner and outer side walls 25 and 26 and 27 and 28.The side walls 25, 26, 27 and 28 are preferably all formed integrallywith the frame 15 out of a single piece of material, and lie in spacedapart vertical parallel planes. The side walls 25 and 26 are preferablyprovided with a discontinuous upper wall 29, and the side walls 27 and28 are provided with a similar discontinuous upper side wall 30. Thediscontinuous upper walls 29 and 30 define spaced apart lengthwiseslotted openings 31 and 32, whereby to permit air to pass through theair handling channels 24, either for delivery or return as desired. Airdeflector vanes such as 28a may be provided on side walls 25 and 27 tocreate desirable air flow patterns.

Preferably, according to the invention the lighting unit 14 consists ofa conventional U shaped or rectangular shaped lighting troffer 33, whichmay be attached to the upper surfaces of the discontinuous side walls 29and 30, in registration with the inner side walls 25 and 27 as shown inFIG. 2. Alternatively, it may be formed integrally therewith of a singlepiece of material. The troffer 33 preferably is provided with lightingfixtures 34 for supporting lighting tubes 35 in known manner. A spacemay be provided therebetween for an additional lighting tube 35 ifgreater illumination is desired in any particular area of a building,such further tubes 35 being shown in phantom.

Connection may be made through a suitable ballast to a source ofelectrical supply by means of the electrical cable 35 and plug 37.

A transparent or translucent lens or louver 38 is supported adjacent thelower end of the troffer 33, preferably by means such as the supportingribs 39 formed on the inwardly directed surfaces of the inner side walls25 and 27 as shown, although of course, other support means may beprovided if desired. The lens 38 is typically, in accordance withpractice in the art removable whereby to permit access to the interiorof the troffer 33 for re-lamping when necessary.

The air handling facilities 13 consist of a generally U shaped airhousing 40, such housing 40 being usually known as a boot in the trade.The housing 40 is closed at each end, and is preferably attached to theupper walls 29 and 32 of the channels 24, preferably in registrationwith the outer side walls 26 and 28 as shown in FIG. 2. Obviously othermeans of attachment could be provided, such as attaching directly to theframe 15, and merely providing for a good snug fit between the housing40 and the side walls 26 and 28.

In either case, the air housing 40, together with the exterior surfaceof the troffer 33, will form a continuous chamber in communication withthe air handling channels 24, either for delivery or return of airwithin the building. The housing 40 is preferably provided with aconventional flexible air hose or duct 41, provided with any suitableform of connection means such as the reduced diameter collar 42 by meansof which it may readily be connected to overhead ducts (not shown)installed in position prior to the installation of the ceiling modules10.

Preferably, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 both the hose 41 and plug 47 areboth located on the side of the air housing 40 which is adjacent theaccess opening 12 in the frame 15, whereby a workman may readily reachthrough the access-opening 12 for connection or disconnection of theelectrical and air supply with a minimum of difficulty.

The ceiling panel 11 is preferably comprised of a sheet member 43,formed of the same material as side wall 15, and formed integrallytherewith of a single piece of material, the sheet member 43 extendingfrom frame 15 to outer side wall 26 of air handling channel 24, andextending end to end of the space therebetween between respective frames15. Preferably, the sheet member 43 will be perforated with a largenumber of small openings, and a panel of sound absorbent material 44such as cork or cork composition or the like or any other material suchas is known in the art, may be fitted within the well formed over thesheet member 43 by the frame and the side wall 26, whereby to absorbsound from the building space therebeneath.

Alternatively the material of which the sheet member 43 is formed may besuch that it is inherently sound absorbing in which case no such a panel44 will be required.

The access opening 12 is preferably formed by a sheet like trap doormember 45, preferably formed of the same material as the frame 15, butin a separate piece, and being formed with upwardly offset supportingflanges 46 therearound. Preferably, the frame 15 is provided with asupporting lip 47, and the outer side wall 28 is provided with a similarsupporting lip 48, whereby to interengage with said flange 46 andsupport said trap door 45 in position, with its lower surface coplanarwith the lower surface of the lips 47 and 48 as shown in FIG. 2. Ifdesired, any suitable form of hinging means can be provided on one orother side for the panel 46, although this is generally speaking, notnecessary. Preferably, the trap door 45 is perforated with a largenumber of small openings in the same way as the sheet member 43 wherebyto both provide it with a similar appearance thereto when viewed frombelow, and also whereby to permit passage of sound therethrough. Afurther sound absorbent panel or pad 49 may be placed over the trap door45 for absorbing the sound in the building.

Preferably, the modules 10 are supported by means of four spaced apartrods or bolts 50, provided at their lower ends with any suitable form ofsupporting abutment, or releaseable attachment means such as a threadedfastener, for example, a nut, or a sheet metal type fastener, such as aspeed nut or any other suitable form of fastener such as are well knownin the fastener art, and is omitted for the sake of clarity.

The upper ends of the rods 50 may be secured directly in recesses formedin the concrete fabric of the building by any suitable means known inthe art such as a collar (not shown) on a tapered upper end of the bolt50 such as is employed on bolts manufactured by Isometric Limited ofToronto, Canada, under the Trade Mark ISO-BOLT, or by any other means.

It will of course be understood that only two such bolts 50 are employedfor each module 10.

With reference to FIG. 3, the mode of installation is shown, and it willbe seen that a first module 10 may be installed along one side of thebuilding by the installation of four bolts 50 in vertical alignment withthe slotted recesses 18, and the attachment openings of the flanges l6and 17. Such first module 10 will then be raised into position by anysuitable means such as a moveable hoist truck indicated as T having apair of horizontal arms A upon which the module 10 may be supported andraised into position. A workman, working on the hoist or a suitablemobile platform (not shown) may then place himself immediately beneaththe module 10 and introduce the lower ends of the bolts 50 through theslotted openings 18 and attachment openings 20, and fasten them inposition.

The next and each subsequent module 10 in a row of modules 10 beingerected across a building space will then be raised in position by thetruck T, and the second workman will then slide the module 10 sidewaysin a diagonal manner until the slotted openings 18 are fitted around thetwo adjacent bolts of the two adjacent modules 10. In this position, theupper flanges 16 will overly the lower flanges 17 of the adjacent module10, and once slid into position the upper flanges 16 will obtain supportfrom the bolts 50 extending through the slotted openings 18. The workmanthen introduces the lower ends of the rods 50 through the two remainingattachment openings 20 and fastens them as described above, after whichhe is free to proceed to the next module 10. As he installs and erectseach module 10, the workman can simply reach through the access opening12 and connect up the collar 42 of the flexible air hose 41, and connectup the plug 37 of the electrical cable 36 and that module is then bothinstalled and connected to the electrical and air handling services andis ready for use without further attention.

These connection operations can of course be simplitied to the pointwhere they can be performed by suitable machinery as part of theinstallation operation, without requiring separate and distinct manualoperations.

According to a further embodiment of the invention as shown in FIGS. 4aand 4b provision can if desired be made for interlocking between theflanges 16 and 17 by means such as the openings 53 formed in the lowerflanges l7, and the downwardly struck out tongues 54 formed in the upperflanges 16. The tongues 54 are adapted to register with and enter theopenings 53 when the flanges 16 and 17 are placed in overlyingrelationship as shown in FIG. 4b.

In some cases it may be desirable to provide modules 10 of differentshapes for example hexagonal or triangular, as shown for example bymodule in FIG. 4.

According to a further embodiment the invention, the entire module 10may be adapted so as to accommodate lighting tubes of a different shape,for example U shaped lighting tubes may be desirable in some buildinglocations to provide a more flexible arrangement of building partitionsto be erected to divide the building space into separate offices.

Such a further embodiment is shown in FIG. 5. For the sake ofsimplicity, in this alternate embodimention the same reference numeralsare used with the suffix a, to show the same physical features althoughof course, they are arranged in a different manner. Thus the module orunit is shown as 10a, and will again be seen to be provided with asquare frame 15a, and side flanges 16a and 17a.

However, in order to accommodate a different layout or a differentceiling design the wall members 25a, 26a, 27a and 280 are arranged in adiagonal manner from the four corners of the frame 15a, whereby tointersect in the middle, thereby dividing the square defined by theframe 15a into four equal triangles.

A modified form of lighting troffer 33a is located and supported in oneof the triangles, and contains a somewhat different form of fluorescentlighting tube (not shown), being obviously shorter than the two shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, and preferably being of the U-shaped design such as iscurrently available.

A somewhat modified form of air handling boot 40a is arranged separatelyfrom the troffer 33a, whereby to provide for delivery of air along thelength of the troffers 33a as shown, suitable delivery and returnopenings or slots (not shown) being provided as before.

In some ceiling designs the air delivery, or return, may be controlledby zones within the ceiling space, and air will be supplied directlyinto (or withdrawn from) such a zone without individual boots 33 or 33a.in such cases slots 32a may be provided as desired in the frame 17a or70, and some of such slots 32a will be connected with boots 32b andothers will be free, providing for air delivery in one set of slots, andair return in the others. Similarly the ceiling panel 43a can itself bepermeable to air for the same purpose, the sound absorbent panel 44being omitted where air flow is desired.

The foregoing is a description of a preferred embodiment of the inventorwhich is given here by way of example. The invention is not to be takenas limited to any of the specific features as described but comprehendsall such changes as come within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A modular ceiling construction unit for a ceiling construction of thetype in which air handling and electrical supply facilities areconcealed in the space between the ceiling and the building structure,said unit having an upper concealed side and a lower visible side, saidconstruction unit comprising;

unitary frame means;

ceiling fabric means supported and incorporated in said frame means;suspension attachment means on said frame means; lighting fixture meansattached to said frame means and supported thereby in position in saidceiling;

electrical connection means connected to said lighting fixture means,and adapted to make electrical connection with an adjacent electricalsupply within said space;

air passage means formed in said construction unit for passage of airtherethrough from one said side to the other thereof;

air handling means attached to said frame means and supported therebywhen said unit is in position in said ceiling and in communication withsaid air passage means;

air handling connection means connected with said air handling means,and adapted to interconnect with air handling facilities adjacent tosaid unit within said space; junction means formed on said frame meansaround the edges thereof for interfitting engagement with adjacent saidunits to form a complete ceiling, and,

access hatchway opening means defined in said unit,

and closure means therefor whereby to permit access to the upperconcealed side of said unit from the lower side thereof.

2. A modular ceiling construction unit as claimed in claim 1 whereinsaid frame means defines a recessed channel extending at least partiallytherearound, and wherein said air passage means includes slottedopenings in said frame means opening into said recessed channel, andalong at least part of the length of said channel.

3. A modular ceiling construction unit as claimed in claim 1 includingedge flange means for interengagement with adjacent said flange means onadjacent said construction units for mutual interlocking supportingengagement between said units when in position in said ceiling.

4. A modular ceiling construction unit as claimed in claim 3 whereinsaid unit defines four sides, and including said edge flange means onall four sides thereof, arranged in pairs, one said pair of edge flangemeans being offset in a plane relative to the other said pair of edgeflange means whereby the plane of one said pair is displaced verticallyrelative to the plane of the other said pair by an amount equal to aboutthe thickness of said flange means.

5. A modular ceiling construction unit as claimed in claim 4 whereinsaid flange means define notched recesses at three comers, and whereinsaid flange means meet at a fourth corner.

6. A modular ceiling construction unit as claimed in claim 1 whereinsaid frame means and said ceiling fabric means are formed in one pieceintegrally with one another of a single sheet of material.

7. A modular ceiling construction unit as claimed in claim 1 includingwall means traversing said frame side to side thereof, slotted openingmeans formed in at least some of said wall means, and forming said airpassage means, and an air handling chamber, defining said air handlingmeans, attached in registration with said slotted opening means forcommunication of air therethrough.

8. A modular ceiling construction unit as claimed in claim 1 includingwall means traversing said frame means and defining a spacetherebetween, means for supporting a light trasnmitting panel memberformed on said wall means, and a light transmitting member supportedthereby, and said lighting fixture means being attached to said wallmeans in registration with said light transmitting panel.

9. A modular ceiling construction unit as claimed in claim 1 includingmeans defining two channels spaced apart from one another and traversingsaid frame means, and attached thereto in mutually supportingrelationship, slotted opening means within said channel means andforming said air passage means, said slotted opening means beingrecessed within and substantially obscured from view by said channelmeans, and including air deflector means within said channel means.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,788,206 Dated January 29, 1974 Inventor(s) Gerard Edmond Mulvey It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Q Column 6, line 46, cancel "Fig. 5" and insert Fig. 6

Column 6, line 52, cancel "15a" and insert (unnumbered Column 6, line55, cancel "25a, 26a" and insert 25, 26 Column 6, line 56, cancel "27aand 28a are" and insert are replaced by the channel frame portions 70Column 6, line 56, after ...manner insert extending Column 6, line 57and g line 59, cancel "15a".

Column 7, line 7, cancel "33 or 33a"; Column 7, line 10, cancel "32b"and insert 40a or 33b Signed and Scaled this 0 nineteenth D y ofAugusf1975 [SEAL] Arrest:

RUTH C. MASON C. MARSHALL DANN Arresting Officer ('mnmissinncruj'Parenls and Tradvmurkx FORM PO-1050 (10-69) uscoMM-Dc 50376-p59 U45.GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 7 1559 '-S6633.

1. A modular ceiling construction unit for a ceiling construction of thetype in which air handling and electrical supply facilities areconcealed in the space between the ceiling and the building structure,said unit having an upper concealed side and a lower visible side, saidconstruction unit comprising; unitary frame means; ceiling fabric meanssupported and incorporated in said frame means; suspension attachmentmeans on said frame means; lighting fixture means attached to said framemeans and supported thereby in position in said ceiling; electricalconnection means connected to said lighting fixture means, and adaptedto make electrical connection with an adjacent electrical supply withinsaid space; air passage means formed in said construction unit forpassage of air therethrough from one said side to the other thereof; airhandling means attached to said frame means and supported thereby whensaid unit is in position in said ceiling and in communication with saidair passage means; air handling connection means connected with said airhandling means, and adapted to interconnect with air handling facilitiesadjacent to said unit within said space; junction means formed on saidframe means around the edges thereof for interfitting engagement withadjacent said units to form a complete ceiling, and, access haTchwayopening means defined in said unit, and closure means therefor wherebyto permit access to the upper concealed side of said unit from the lowerside thereof.
 2. A modular ceiling construction unit as claimed in claim1 wherein said frame means defines a recessed channel extending at leastpartially therearound, and wherein said air passage means includesslotted openings in said frame means opening into said recessed channel,and along at least part of the length of said channel.
 3. A modularceiling construction unit as claimed in claim 1 including edge flangemeans for interengagement with adjacent said flange means on adjacentsaid construction units for mutual interlocking supporting engagementbetween said units when in position in said ceiling.
 4. A modularceiling construction unit as claimed in claim 3 wherein said unitdefines four sides, and including said edge flange means on all foursides thereof, arranged in pairs, one said pair of edge flange meansbeing offset in a plane relative to the other said pair of edge flangemeans whereby the plane of one said pair is displaced verticallyrelative to the plane of the other said pair by an amount equal to aboutthe thickness of said flange means.
 5. A modular ceiling constructionunit as claimed in claim 4 wherein said flange means define notchedrecesses at three corners, and wherein said flange means meet at afourth corner.
 6. A modular ceiling construction unit as claimed inclaim 1 wherein said frame means and said ceiling fabric means areformed in one piece integrally with one another of a single sheet ofmaterial.
 7. A modular ceiling construction unit as claimed in claim 1including wall means traversing said frame side to side thereof, slottedopening means formed in at least some of said wall means, and formingsaid air passage means, and an air handling chamber, defining said airhandling means, attached in registration with said slotted opening meansfor communication of air therethrough.
 8. A modular ceiling constructionunit as claimed in claim 1 including wall means traversing said framemeans and defining a space therebetween, means for supporting a lighttrasnmitting panel member formed on said wall means, and a lighttransmitting member supported thereby, and said lighting fixture meansbeing attached to said wall means in registration with said lighttransmitting panel.
 9. A modular ceiling construction unit as claimed inclaim 1 including means defining two channels spaced apart from oneanother and traversing said frame means, and attached thereto inmutually supporting relationship, slotted opening means within saidchannel means and forming said air passage means, said slotted openingmeans being recessed within and substantially obscured from view by saidchannel means, and including air deflector means within said channelmeans.